Updates
Floridians For Honest Lending Urges Legislature to Take Consumer-Focused Approach to Insurance Reform
The consumer lending watchdog group Floridians For Honest Lending and the insurance reform group Federal Association For Insurance Reform (FAIR) released an educational video about short-term and long-term solutions to fix Florida’s broken property insurance market. The video is part of a series about the increased risk of foreclosures if the Legislature fails to provide stability to Florida’s property insurance marketplace.

Homeowner Facing Foreclosure While Waiting for Homeowner Assistance Funds from State of Florida
A homeowner in the Orlando area is behind on his mortgage, like thousands of Floridians across the state, because of the pandemic. After applying for mortgage assistance relief, he now faces foreclosure while he waits for an answer to his application.

The Miami-Dade Bar and Floridians for Honest Lending hold seminar for those at risk of losing their homes
On April 7, the Miami-Dade Bar Association’s Foreclosure Committee hosted a virtual panel so that homeowners can learn how to protect themselves. At this panel, industry experts talked about homeowners’ rights, how to fight dirty tricks from lenders, and what they can do to avoid being scammed if they are requesting a loan modification.

Homeowner Bill of Rights Introduced
As reported in Florida Politics, Sen. Ileana Garcia and Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin held a news conference in the Capitol on Monday to unveil legislation designed to protect Floridians from predatory foreclosure practices.

Nearly 300,000 Florida Households Behind on Mortgage Payments
Census Data Shows Nearly 1 Million Florida Households With No or Slight Confidence in their Ability To Pay Next Month’s Mortgage
Recent data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey shows that there are more than 6.3 million households in the United States that are not current on their mortgage payments, and nearly 300,000 of those are in the state of Florida.

A 91-Year-Old Risks Losing His Home Over $20
At 91, José Torrado faces the possibility of losing his home over a $20 discrepancy. His bank, Bank of New York Mellon, attempted to foreclose on his home, claiming he did not have proper homeowners insurance, even after Mr. Torrado provide proof of insurance, sending him confusing claims that Mr. Torrado did not understand.

‘We need to move on’: Judge rejects delaying Miami eviction of ex-Cuban prisoner | Miami Herald
A judge denied a motion Thursday to delay the ouster of former Cuban political prisoner Ana Rodriguez from her Miami home after her lawyer sought an emergency hearing to argue the recently extended eviction moratorium should apply to her case.

As moratoriums lift, will America face a wave of foreclosures and evictions? | The Economist
Almost 8% of mortgage-holders in Miami are delinquent, among the highest share in the nation. Meanwhile, people renting housing face the end of a federal moratorium on evictions at the end of the month. A moratorium on mortgage foreclosures ends at the same time, raising fears of a spike in houses lost amid a house-price boom.

A wave of foreclosures is coming. Floridians need protection from predatory lenders | Opinion
The moratorium on foreclosures of government-backed mortgage loans ended June 30, and those of us who see the foreclosure system up close are worried.
Why? We see day in and day out how easy it is for mortgage lenders and servicers to wrongly toss people from their homes — and sometimes illegally. A decade after major banks paid a $25 billion settlement for predatory mortgage practices, many of the same practices are still taking place.
We’re not talking about deadbeats trying to avoid their debts. We’re talking about neighbors, family members and friends trying to do the right thing and keep a roof over their head after running into financial trouble, especially during the pandemic shutdown. An estimated 10 million Americans are behind in their mortgage payments, and 1.8 million are 90 days past due, four times as many as before the pandemic.

3 Things You Should Know About the New Mortgage Rules From The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Millions of homeowners around the country who are behind on their mortgage payments can look forward to added protections from foreclosure through the end of 2021 under new rules finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.